Early Work In Photography
A Text-book For Beginners

The Dark-Room and its Fittings. 29 is likely to be adopted as a serious liobby), we recommend the student to arrange for a plentiful supply. Of course, if it is impossible to run a supply from the main we can arrange for a tank, or small keg, to contain enough for use during development; but we strongly urge the student to arrange for a direct supply, and a direct waste pipe. If he has these, photography will lose all its terrors and become a most agreeable and fascinating occupation. We advise the beginner to permanently block up the top half of the window in his workroom and provide a sliding shutter (working up and down in grooves) to the lower half Ruby Lamp suitable only for changing plates. Thus he can, at a moment’s notice, convert his dark-room into a light workroom for ordinary work or vice-versa. Both sink and table should be of a convenient height, so that de- velopment and other work may be undertaken while the operator is sitting in comfort, instead of standing for long periods watching the slow appearance of an under-exposed negative. It is a common mistake to build the sink so high as to be useless except while standing. The dark-room door should be fitted with a spring latch, which will effectually prevent untimely intrusions while development is proceeding, and we recommend the use of a draw-curtain (inside the door) sufficiently long and wide to cover all the cracks around and beneath the door and so exclude even the faintest ray of unfiltered light. It is a good plan to test tlie thorough darkness of the room by closing it and sitting in total darkness for five minutes. Long before this time has elapsed the student will observe